Husband doesn't want a will, Wife is not on deed

[EPH389]

I have been married for 15 years now. Every year I mention to my husband that we should get a will. He finally admitted that he doesn't want to even go there, for we never can agree on anything. I am considering obtaining my own will particulalry to establish guardianship for our teenager, in case we both go at the same time. In terms of the property ( 2 houses, cars), it is all in his name. I purchased all the furnishing. Please advice.

Maryland

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I have been married for 15 years now. Every year I mention to my husband that we should get a will. He finally admitted that he doesn't want to even go there, for we never can agree on anything. I was thinking of getting my own will, for we have a teenager.

There are many issues, things have been rocky for along time now. I have worked over the years as a consultant or pt in order to better take care of my family. I think this made him mad. From day one of marraige he has always harped on money, initially I was not making enough, that I should be making more than I was making. I have 2 degrees but after all these years, I finally realize that I could not really handle his verbal put downs and abuse, and the stress of my career field too, long commutes so I opted to work as 25-30 hr work week.

I just realized that all the property ( 2 houses and the cars) is in his name. He even left my name off of the deed of the new house we bought. His reason-I was not working at the time and I had debt which would have prevented him from getting the loan. I am now working full-time. Learned my lesson. Please advice on the will issue and the fact that all the property is in his name.

My response:

I want to thank you for making me read all of that - - for nothing. Your husband is upset with you, like I am, because you can't follow simple instructions.

Look at the RED words, written in BIG letters. Then, tell me what's missing.

IAAL

 

[tigger22472]

And you were doing so well today IAAL... I was so proud of you...hee hee

 

[EPH389]

I meant to sign it MD, but I forgot. This was my first time using this forum and was just so excited to find a mechanism to possible get some insight. IAAL really made me feel welcomed.

 

[advisor10]

2-27-2002

DEAR EPH389:

You didn't forget to sign it "MARYLAND"--I can see it!

You are very smart to have your own will prepared, as this is the only way to INSURE that your wishes are carried out exactly as you want and to protect the interests of your survivors.

You would be smart to advise your husband to do the same, if he really loves you all and if he really wants to protect your interests, he needs to have his wishes exactly spelled out so there will be no confusion for the family at the time of his death, and it would be so much easier on them if this was already taken care of in advance. In view of tragic events like Sept. 11, he should realize that tomorrow is guaranteed to no one, and even though it is hard to face up to the fact of your own mortality, it must be faced up to anyway.

It is not necessary for you all to AGREE ON EVERYTHING--although he should discuss his intentions with you, he gets to make the final decision on how he wants his assets to be handled. Cost will be only a few hundred dollars, depending on how simple or complex his financial affairs are.

SINCERELY,

advisor

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Dear Advisor:

You'll notice the "edited" line in our writer's post. She added "Maryland" after I posted my response. And, you really needed to know that information in order to respond properly. You see, Maryland is an Equitable Distribution State, and not a Community Property State. Therefore, our client's real concern with the Will situation was whether she's entitled to make a Will to include the house, when the reality of the situation is that the house is only in her husband's name. She can't bequeath something that doesn't belong to her. Granted, a probate judge would equitably allow her a certain share or percentage of the home; but, how much - - if any?


To our writer - -

First time or not, fully 70% of our writers are first-timers to this forum, and at least 50% do not read instructions. So, you're in good company, but that's not an excuse. A lot of time is wasted by opening and reading posts - - only to find out that time has been wasted because people don't read the simple instructions.

IAAL